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well started and then totally neglected. Not only was he naturally slight, but he did not handle his sword and shield well, because no one had bothered to teach him. Ian had started to work with him in the few weeks of quiet after the end of the action in France and was pleased by the boy's eagerness and progress, but that progress was not enough to make an efficient fighter of Geoffrey. It would be necessary to leave him behind in the care of some men or guard the boy during fighting. Ordinarily there would have been no question; Geoffrey would have to be left in safety. However, in this case, where the opposition was not well-trained men-at-arms but runaway serfs or villeins with stolen weapons, the danger would be less and it might be well to blood Geoffrey now. |
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Having set his lookouts and decided that the farm showed no obvious signs of his troop, Ian returned to the serf's hut. He sent Owain to check the horses, warning him to beware of the gray destrier. True, the horse was not as vicious once his saddle was removed; he had been trained to strike out at anything that ran away when there was no rider on his back. This was a device to prevent enemy men-at-arms from seizing a fallen knight. Unfortunately the horse had no way of knowing whether his rider had fallen in battle or simply had not yet mounted, although the smell of blood always heightened the animal's fury. Nonetheless, Ian did not want Owain to take any chances; the stallions of Roselynde were never sweet-tempered. |
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When Owain was gone, Ian gestured Geoffrey to sit at his feet and settled himself on the hut's only stool. "Geoffrey, I need you to think like a man, for I have a choice to give you. You must try to think what will be best and safest, not for you but for me. Through no fault of your own, you are not well-skilled with weapons." |
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The boy flushed painfully. "I practice with Owain" |
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